Summer Love
by Kaychan87
Summary: While doing some Christmas shopping with Ichigo and Rukia, Renji reminisces about the summer he spent falling in love with an unlikely stranger - AU; ONE SHOT IchiRuki, IshiHime, RenTatsu -


**Summer Love**

**Disclaimer: **Bleach and all characters used belong to Kubo Tite, not me.

**Author's Note:** This one shot was written for darklover, who got the 100th review for my _100 Romantic Bleach Drabbles_! It's AU, so it doesn't exactly follow Bleach canon! The title was inspired by Skoop on Somebody's "Summer Love" and the plot was largely inspired by Keith Urban's "'Til Summer Comes Around".

* * *

"Would you stop staring at that picture and hurry up already?" Kurosaki Ichigo demanded, poking his head into the living room of the Abarai household. He was there to meet his best friend and his girlfriend for a day of Christmas shopping.

Abarai Renji just gave a grunt and turned to face his orange haired friend. "I don't even want to go with you guys."

"Then you go and tell Rukia that. I sure as Hell ain't doing it for you," Ichigo replied sourly.

"Coward," Renji muttered, though whether he was talking about Ichigo or himself was unknown. There was just something about his younger sister, Rukia, which terrified both of the young men.

"I'd rather not have my teeth kicked in, thanks," Ichigo muttered back.

"Yeah, yeah." Reluctantly, Renji turned away from the picture and went to join Ichigo. The picture in question had been taken during the summer and it showed three sets of very happy couples enjoying themselves at the local amusement park where Ichigo and Renji spent their summers working. The picture often made Renji sad and wistful but happy at the same time. He knew he'd never be as happy as he had been that summer unless **she** came back to him.

* * *

_  
"Kurosaki!"_

_ Ichigo looked up as did Renji at the mention of Ichigo's name. A slightly annoyed grin found its way onto the orange haired teen's face as he glanced over his shoulder at Renji. "Great. Ishida's back," he groaned before raising a hand to wave at the person who had called out to him._

_ "It's worth it. His girlfriend's pretty hot," Renji chuckled, enjoying Ichigo's misery._

_ "Shut up," Ichigo muttered and elbow Renji in the side. Renji growled and cursed under his breath. "I didn't think you'd be back this year, Ishida. At least, my dad didn't say anything."_

_ "I think my father was trying to avoid that." Stopping in front of Ichigo and Renji was a tall, dark haired young man. Ichigo had known him his entire life, longer than he had known Renji, but they had never been especially close. When Ichigo and his family had moved to the coast, he had more or less stopped contacting his old friends like Ishida._

_ Turning, Ichigo spoke to Renji. "You remember Ishida Uryuu, right? He was here last summer, too."  
"Yo," Renji said and nodded at Ishida before turning his gaze over to the two young women who were also there. "And Orihime-chan, I remember you too."_

_ Beside Ishida, a busty young woman giggled and smiled. "Nice to see you again Kurosaki-kun, Abarai-kun. Is Rukia-chan working with you two this summer?"_

_ "She's somewhere around here," Renji replied with a shrug. He never really felt the need to keep tabs on his younger sister. She was definitely more than capable of taking care of herself in any sort of situation._

_ "Who's your friend, Inoue?" Ichigo asked, eyeing the third person in Ishida's group. _

_Renji looked over as well, taking in the girl's slim but toned physique, her boyishly spiked black hair, and her deep, chocolate brown eyes in a single sweep with his eyes. '_She's no Orihime, but still she's pretty,_' he thought, keeping his eyes on her even as Orihime introduced her._

_ "This is Arisawa Tatsuki-chan, my best friend in the entire world!" she exclaimed happily._

_ Ishida turned to look at Tatsuki. "This is Kurosaki Ichigo and his friend Abarai Renji. Kurosaki is the son of one of my father's former colleagues from the hospital," he explained._

_ "Nice to meet you," Tatsuki said, barely glancing at Ichigo but giving Renji her full attention. She had felt his eyes on her the whole time and decided to meet his gaze head on. She wasn't very interested in his attention and she wanted to make sure her stare conveyed that._

_ Renji just shrugged and stood up. "I'm going back to work before I get an earful," he told Ichigo. He then turned to Orihime. "If I see her, I'll tell Rukia you're lookin' for her."_

_ "Thank you Abarai-kun!" Orihime called to Renji's retreating form._

_ "I need to go, too. I'm sure I'll see you around during the summer," Ichigo said, excusing himself as well.  
_

* * *

"Took you long enough!" Abarai Rukia exclaimed when Ichigo and Renji finally joined her outside.

"Shut up. Why are you forcing me to do this?" Renji growled, swatting at his sister.

"Because you're just going to be stupid and stay inside to mope," Rukia growled back, smacking Renji back with more force than necessary.

"Demon," the red head muttered, rubbing his arm.

"Here's an idea, how about we don't kill each other?" Ichigo said, coming between the bickering siblings. He always seemed to be playing the role of the responsible adult when the three of them did anything together. And they were always together.

"It's not my fault Renji's being stupid. It was just a summer fling," Rukia muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from Renji and Ichigo.

Renji just clenched his fists. "It was not a fling!"

"You're not involved with her now. Your 'relationship' ended when summer ended!"

Renji just glowered at Rukia before stomping off ahead of her and Ichigo.

* * *

_  
"C'mon Renji. Just go out with her this once and we'll never ask you to do anything again!" Rukia pleaded, giving her older brother a sad puppy dog look._

_ "Please Abarai-kun? I don't want Tatsuki-chan to feel left out!" added Orihime, giving him the same look as Rukia._

_ Renji knew then that he was doomed. Despite their constant bickering, he already knew he could never deny his baby sister anything. With Orihime helping Rukia, he was definitely screwed. _

_The two girls had decided that they had wanted to go on a group date but Orihime couldn't just leave Tatsuki alone. So they had decided to set her up with Renji. After all, as Rukia had pointed out, he was single and he was easily available because he had no real life. Rukia knew just how to bend him to her will and with someone as pretty as Orihime helping her, Renji was as good as putty in her hands._

_ "You're a demon," Renji muttered, looking away from the two girls._

_ "See Inoue? I told you he'd agree!" Rukia said triumphantly._

_ "Thank you so much Abarai-kun! I can't wait to tell Tatsuki-chan! She'll be so excited!" Orihime gushed, throwing her arms around Renji._

_ Renji blushed a bit before looking away from the strawberry haired girl. '_Somehow, I doubt that…_' he thought. Every time he had encountered Tatsuki since their initial meeting, she had been pretty cold to him. It frustrated Renji because he had been nothing but friendly towards her._

_ "Come on Rukia-chan, let's go get ready!" Orihime exclaimed excitedly once she had released Renji. Rukia just laughed as she was dragged off by Orihime, enjoying the fact that her brother was being tormented by her plans.  
_

* * *

_  
"I can't believe I let Orihime talk me into this," Tatsuki muttered as she and Renji sat on a bench together. They had been left alone by the other couples, who had decided to go on a few of the carnival rides. She had turned down Renji's invitation to do the same and had sought a place to sit down. _

_Renji had followed along to avoid getting attacked by Rukia for leaving his "date" alone. Now he was wondering if getting beat up by his younger sister was worse than staying with his "date". "Why don't you just leave then?" he asked, his tone harsher than he had intended it to be._

_ Tatsuki glared up at Renji. "Because it'd ruin the trip for Orihime! She'd spend the whole time we're here trying to make me happy!" she snapped._

_ "You're not in love with her, are you? Because I'm pretty sure she's straight…"_

_ "You're an ass!" Tatsuki growled, punching Renji in the arm hard enough to make him wince. "Creep!"_

_ "What the hell?!"_

_ "Orihime's the kind of girl who needs to be protected. She's so innocent and naïve, always seeing the best in everyone," Tatsuki said softly, looking at the ground as she spoke._

_ "Like you?" Renji asked, rubbing his arm._

_ "I was branded a trouble maker because I stood up for myself. Most people were afraid of me, but not Orihime. She always had a smile or a kind word for me," answered Tatsuki._

_ "Like Ichigo. He was such a baby when I met him. Even after I beat him up a few times, he still hung around. The bastard beat me up pretty good when we reached junior high," Renji told her._

_ "But he's so surly all the time!"_

_ "Yeah, he's a regular pain in the ass like that," agreed Renji. Tatsuki just laughed, causing Renji to grin impishly. He liked her laugh._

_ "I guess you're not so bad to hang out with," she conceded when her laughter died down._

_ "Yeah, I know. I'm awesome."_

_ "And oh so modest," Tatsuki added with a roll of her eyes. Renji just continued to grin impishly at her.  
_

* * *

Renji stopped outside a toy store to let Rukia and Ichigo finally catch up to him. He'd had more than enough time to think about his relationship with Tatsuki while letting Rukia's words really sink in. He knew she was right, though it would take him a long time to ever admit it to her.

That and he knew the toy store would be the first stop. Ichigo would want to look there for presents for his younger twin sisters. Renji would probably do the same for Karin and Yuzu. They were practically his family as well. Renji and Rukia had spent a lot of their time growing up alongside the Kurosakis.

"Good call Renji," Ichigo said when he reached his friend.

"Figured we'd be shopping for the twins' gifts first like always," Renji replied with a shrug.

"What a softie," Rukia teased and slipped inside the toy store ahead of Ichigo and Renji.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably before clearing his throat. "About what Rukia said…"

"Don't worry about it. She's right anyway," Renji said, cutting Ichigo off before he could continue his train of thought.

"I'm sorry man," Ichigo said, placing a hand firmly on Renji's shoulder.

"Don't you get all sappy on me," Renji said, forcing a grin. Ichigo just grinned back and the two of them entered the toy store.

* * *

_  
To Renji, the summer started to pass by in a blur of good times and happiness he had never felt before. When he wasn't working, he found himself spending more and more time alone with Tatsuki. Of course, he still made time for his other friends but he usually brought Tatsuki along with him. There was just something about her that drew him in. He could feel things stirring within him when he thought about her. When he was away from her, all he wanted was to be with her. As Rukia had pointed out one morning, he had it bad for her._

_ Renji found that the teasing he received from Rukia and Ichigo didn't even bother him like it normally would have. For the first time in a long time he was enjoying himself the way his other friends did during the summer. He spent every day that had passed him by living in the moment, forgetting the past and not focusing on what the future held for him._

_ So when August finally arrived, Renji and Tatsuki were something of an unofficial couple. They had become as inseparable as Ishida and Orihime or Ichigo and Rukia. And by then, he knew it was too late to pull away from her even if he had wanted to. His chest ached as he thought about the one thing he had refused to think about before. Tatsuki would be leaving with Ishida and Orihime. They would be going back home in a matter of days, returning to their real lives and putting their summer vacation behind them. He had a date with Tatsuki that day and he knew he wouldn't be able to shake the grim feelings that had begun to encompass his heart and mind. If only for her sake, he would force a grin on his face and make it a night neither of them would want to forget.  
_

* * *

After a few more hours of searching through all the local shops for presents for various people, Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia stopped at a small café to grab something warm to drink and eat. Renji sat back quietly, sipping at a cup of coffee and watching Ichigo and Rukia. He would never admit how jealous he was feeling to either of them. Watching the young couple bicker with each other affectionately made him miss Tatsuki even more. He wondered if she ever thought about him and the memories they had made over the summer. '_Probably not,_' he thought grimly. Despite the things she had said to him that last night, he really was starting to believe that he was just a summer fling to her. Accepting that was definitely taking its toll on his mind and his heart.

'_I love her even though I mean nothing to her._' With a barely audible sigh, Renji set his coffee cup down and closed his eyes. He could see her face so clearly when he did. He remembered the way she blushed and smiled shyly at him, the way her voice was nothing but a soft whisper meant only for him.

_"Baby, I'll be back again…"_

Abruptly, Renji stood up and walked away from the café, leaving his sister and best friend staring at him in surprise. He had to get back home, to be alone while he tried to push all his thoughts of her from his head. If he was just a fling, then her words meant nothing. He had to stop clinging to them like he was. After all, even if she did come back she would only leave again.

* * *

_  
Tatsuki screamed with delight as the ride Renji had talked her into going on spun them around and around. She threw her arms around him, holding on for dear life and closed her eyes to block out the world spinning around them. She could feel his chest shake with laughter as he snaked an arm around her waist and held her tightly against his warm, muscular body. Tatsuki couldn't help laughing along with him. She had never been as happy in her entire life as she was in that moment. Even with her departure looming over her, she could find no reason not to enjoy every moment she spent with Renji._

_ When the ride stopped, Renji helped her down, keeping his arm around her waist to not only support her but to show everyone around that he had claimed her as his own._

_ Arisawa Tatsuki did not mind being claimed by him at all. It made her heart pound in her chest and it filled her with a sense of warmth and belonging she had never known before. It was a different sort of belonging; one Orihime could never show her._

_ It was love._

_ "Renji, let's ride the ferris wheel!" she pleaded, flashing him a bright smile._

_ Renji returned the smile and lead her to the line for the ride. It was filled with other couples hoping to spend the last little bit of their summer alone, overlooking the entire carnival and the coast._

_ "Maybe if we're lucky we'll get stuck at the top. That's always the best view," Tatsuki said, echoing the murmurs of all the other couples ahead of them._

_ "That would be nice," Renji said in agreement. He tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer as the line slowly lurched forward._

_ Finally they were able to get on the ride themselves. When they were securely seated, Renji removed his arm from around Tatsuki's waist so that he could hold her hand. Tatsuki blushed faintly and gave Renji's larger hand a tight squeeze. Renji smiled and squeezed back just as they started to move up off the ground.  
_

* * *

Renji sighed as he walked down the street to his home. No matter how hard he tried, he'd never be able to forget that night. He had experienced so many firsts that night with Tatsuki – first kiss, first love, first real heart break. They were things he didn't want to give up no matter how painful they were to recall.

A frigid gust of wind forced the red head to lower his head as he trudged down the street. He kept it down until he was a few feet from his own front door. When he did look up, he stopped in his tracks. Standing on his front porch was the last person he expected to see there in a million years. His eyes widened as the person turned to face him.

* * *

_  
Fate had been on their side that night. Tatsuki and Renji were stopped at the very top of the ferris wheel, holding hands as the sun began to sink below the horizon. "It's an absolutely breathtaking sight, isn't it?" Tatsuki asked softly, her eyes taking in the scenery._

_ "Very breathtaking," Renji agreed. He was drinking in the sight of her in the fading sunlight. _

_Tatsuki turned and caught his eye, giving him a shy smile. Her cheeks were a rosy pink as she reached up to lightly caress his cheek with her free hand. "Renji…" she started, her voice lowering until it was barely above a whisper._

_ Renji leaned closer, running his free hand through her short, black hair._

_ "I love you," she breathed before Renji leaned in completely and captured her mouth with his own. Electricity flowed through the young lovers as Tatsuki returned the kiss. She knew without him having to say it that he loved her too._

_ When they pulled apart, tears were streaming down Tatsuki's cheeks. Gently, Renji used his thumb to wipe them away. "I love you too," he said softly, kissing her softly again. Tatsuki threw her arms around him, laughing with the sudden joy she felt. Renji enclosed the small woman in his arms and held her tight, ignoring the rocking of their seat and the sudden start of the ferris wheel once more.  
_

* * *

"Tatsuki!" Renji closed the distance with several large steps just as Tatsuki moved to launch herself into his arms. Her small body shook as she buried her face into Renji's coat, crying what Renji hoped were tears of joy. He held her tightly until she was able to look up at him. Lightly, he brushed her tears away with his gloved thumb.

"I told you I'd be back," she said softly. Renji crushed her against him tightly before bending to kiss her. His own eyes were filled with tears that started to slip down his cheeks when he felt Tatsuki kiss back. The young lovers ignored the rush of footsteps approaching them as they continued to kiss and embrace one another.

"I'll be damned," Rukia murmured as she came to a halt with Ichigo at her side.

"So you were wrong after all," Ichigo teased.

"Shut up," Rukia grumbled and kicked Ichigo.

The two bickered while Renji rolled his eyes and lead Tatsuki inside the house, never taking his eyes and arms off her.

"I love you," Tatsuki whispered softly.

Renji smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."


End file.
